Wall of water slams Himalayan village, leaving multiple dead and dozens feared trapped or missing

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3 days ago

A surge of flood water tore through a mountainous village in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand Tuesday, leaving at least four people dead and dozens missing, officials say.
Dramatic video from the Himalayan village of Dharali shows the wall of water, mud and debris tearing down the mountainside and through the village, destroying the homes and businesses in its path. The flooding occurred around 1:45 p.m. local time, according to Uttarkashi District Magistrate Prashant Arya.
At least four people were confirmed killed, Arya said. 'There are a lot of guest houses, restaurants and hotels there, because of which we immediately requested the army to aid rescue operations,' he said.
Arya said around a dozen hotels were washed away in Tuesday's flood, the Associated Press reported and rescuers fear people could be trapped or missing throughout the valley.
At least 50 people and 9 army personnel are still unaccounted for as of Tuesday evening, with a nearby army camp also hit by a mudslide, according to Lt. Col. Manish Shrivastava, a defense spokesperson in Uttarakhand.
Rescue efforts continued Wednesday amid rising water levels due to incessant rains with additional army units as well as tracker dogs, drones, earthmoving equipment deployed, Shrivastava added. Some 20 people have been rescued.
Possible cloudburst event
Uttarkashi District Magistrate Arya suggested the flood that devastated Dharali was set off by a sudden bout of heavy rain, also called a cloudburst.
'There's a river there and because of the cloudburst, a lot of water came suddenly,' Arya said.
Cloudbursts can cause extreme rainfall in localized areas and they typically lead to flash flooding. They occur in the foothills of the Himalayas and are triggered in part by the topography — which also makes the flooding more dangerous. The India Meteorological Department defines a cloudburst as having a rainfall rate over 100 mm (4 inches) per hour.
Cloudbursts can cause extreme damage and destruction as incredible amounts of water are funneled through the mountains and valleys and into villages in a short period of time.
CNN has not confirmed this flooding was caused by a cloudburst. There are other possible causes of an event like this, including glacial lake outbursts, dam failures or sudden releases of water from upstream. Glacial lake outbursts occur when natural ice dams weaken as they melt and collapse, sending sudden, unexpected torrents of water down steep terrain. They are most likely to occur at this time of year.
India's Meteorological Department had their highest level of warnings in place for 'extremely heavy' rainfall across Uttarakhand. Some portions of the state, which is especially prone to flooding, received as much as 300 mm (12 inches) in the 24 hours through Tuesday morning.
India receives the majority of its annual rainfall during the Southwest Monsoon, which lasts from June through September. Agriculture and livelihoods depend on the heavy summer storms, but the storms can also bring such torrential downpours and flooding that the infrastructure in the region can't handle.
CNN's Jennifer Hauser and Esha Mitra contributed to this report.